Foster parents needed for orphaned baby bats

Conservationists in Queensland are preparing for bat-birthing season by enlisting an army of foster parents to care for orphaned flying foxes.

Despite bats having a reputation as disease-carrying pests, more than 60 people flocked to a class in western Brisbane on Sunday in the hope of becoming accredited bat carers.

The star of the day was a flying-fox baby named Evie (pictured), who was recently saved after her pregnant mother was impaled on a barbed-wire fence.

The mother stayed alive just long enough to give birth.

Volunteer carer Anne Morrison has raised two orphaned flying foxes and says foster carers play an important role.

"It's really rewarding and fun," she said.

"Everyone wants to help possums and koalas and the cute ones, but bats are just as important, but no-one seems to care for their welfare."

Louise Saunders from Bat Conservation and Rescue Queensland (BCRQ) says Evie's plight is typical of what happens to orphaned bats.

"The majority of rescues come after bats are electrocuted on power lines but the baby survives," she said.

"Lots of bats also get caught in fruit netting, get attacked by dogs or sometimes the babies simply lose hold of their mother during flight."

Mrs Saunders says the group expects to rescue a "flood of orphans" from October to December as the flying mammals give birth to their young.

Carers must be vaccinated

Before being allowed to look after bats, aspiring carers need to be vaccinated against Australian bat lyssavirus, a rabies-like disease that has killed three people since being identified in Australia.